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What Is an Independent
Clause? (with Examples)
An independent clause is a clause that can
stand alone as a sentence (i.e., it
expresses a complete thought). A
dependent clauses (or subordinate clause)
is one that cannot stand alone as a
complete sentence (i.e., it does not express
a complete thought). For example:

The argument started when she took

my book.
("The argument started" is an
independent clause because it could
stand alone as a sentence. "When
she took my book" is a dependent
clause because it could not stand
alone as a sentence.)

Table of Contents
Easy Examples of Dependent and
Independent Clauses

Video Lesson

Some Real-Life Examples of

Dependent and Independent Clauses

The Link between an Independent

Clause and a Dependent Clauses

Why Independent Clauses Are

Important

Printable Test

Easy Examples of
Dependent and
Independent Clauses
In all these examples, the independent
clauses are highlighted, and the dependent
clauses aren't. Also, remember that every
clause must have a subject and a verb. In
every clause, the subject is underlined and
the verb is in bold.

The patrol had spotted the sniper,

who was hiding in an attic.

Do you know the butcher who went

to court on Saturday?

I am not tidying the dishes unless

Peter helps.

When it rains, the daffodils bow

their heads.

Notice how the shaded clauses could all

stand alone as sentences. They are
independent clauses.

Video Lesson
Here is a video summarizing this lesson on
independent clauses:

Independent Clause

Are you a visual learner? Do you prefer

video to text? Here is a list of all our
grammar videos.

Some Real-Life Examples

of Dependent and
Independent Clauses
The secret of life is honesty. If you
can fake that, you've got it made.
(Groucho Marx)

If you have heard this story before,

don't stop me, because I'd like to
hear it again. (Groucho Marx)
(Notice there is no subject in the
independent clause. "Don't stop me"
is an order (i.e., an imperative
sentence), and the subject "you" is
implied. We'll discuss the comma
before "because" later.)

Go, and never darken my towels

again. (Groucho Marx)
(These are both imperatives. The
subject "you" is implied in both.)

Do not confuse clauses and phrases. The

non-highlighted texts in the example below
are not dependent clauses. (With no
subjects and verbs, they're not clauses.
They're adverbial phrases.)

Outside of a dog, a book is a man's

best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too
dark to read. (Groucho Marx)

The Link between an

Independent Clause and
a Dependent Clauses
An independent clause is linked to a
dependent clause with a subordinating
conjunction (common ones are "after,"
"although," "as," "because," "before," "even
if," "even though," "if," "provided," "rather
than," "since," "so that," "than," "though,"
"unless," "until," "whether," "while," "how,"
"that," "what," "when," and "where") or a
relative pronoun (common ones are
"which," "who," "whom," "whose," "why,"
"whoever," and "whosever.") Look at these
examples:

If I held you any closer, I would be

on the other side of you. (Groucho
Marx)
(The dependent clause is linked to
the independent one with the
subordinating conjunction "if.")

Wives are people "who" feel they

don't dance enough. (Groucho Marx)
(The dependent clause is linked to
the independent one with the
relative pronoun "who.")

Dependent Clauses inside Independent

Clauses. Grammarians are divided on
whether a dependent clause can be a
component of an independent clause.
Some say yes, and some say no. The no-
camp claims that a dependent clause must
be linked with a subordinating conjunction
or a relative pronoun to an independent
clause.

Whoever named it necking was a

poor judge of anatomy. (Groucho
Marx)
(According to the yes-camp,
"whoever named it necking" is a
dependent clause despite being the
subject of the independent clause.)

Types of Dependent Clause. Let's quickly

look at dependent clauses. They can
function as adjectives, adverbs, or nouns.

Type Example

Adjective I refuse to join any club that

Clause would have me as a
member. (Groucho Marx)
(The dependent clause "that
would have me as a
member" describes the club.
It's an adjective clause.)

Adverbial I find television very

Clause educating. When it's on, I go
into the other room and read
a book. (Groucho Marx)
(The dependent clause
"When it's on" modifies the
verb "go." It is an adverbial
clause.)

Noun A black cat crossing your

Clause path signifies that the
animal is going somewhere.
(Groucho Marx)
(According to the yes-camp,
"that the animal is going
somewhere" is a dependent
clause despite being part of
the independent clause.)

The Types of Sentence Structure. The

number of independent clauses and
dependent clauses in a sentence
determines the sentence-structure type.
There are four.

Type Structure Example

Simple One Humour is

Sentence independent reason
only gone mad.
(Groucho
Marx)

Complex One No man

Sentence independent goes
and at least before his
dependent time,
unless the
boss
leaves
early.
(Groucho
Marx)

Compound two I have had

Sentence independents a perfectly
wonderful
evening,
but this
wasn't it.
(Groucho
Marx)

Compound- At least two Those are

Complex independents my
Sentence and at least principles,
one and if you
dependent don't like
them, I
have
others.
(Groucho
Marx)

Why Independent Clauses

Are Important
There's only one reason to care about
independent and dependent clauses:
comma placement.

There are three, well, four at a push,

noteworthy points linked to comma
placement.

(Point 1) Use a comma

before an "and" that links
two independent clauses.
If your "and" links two independent clauses,
precede it with a comma. This rule does not
apply only to "and." It applies to any
coordinating conjunction (e.g., "but," "or").
Put another way, the rule is "use a comma
before a conjunction that joins the
independent clauses in a compound
sentence."

Yesterday is dead, and tomorrow

hasn't arrived yet. I have just
today, and I'm going to be happy in
it. (Groucho Marx)
(This quotation has two compound
sentences. In each one, there are
two independent clauses linked by
"and" with a comma.)

I never forget a face, but in your

case I will be glad to make an
exception. (Groucho Marx)
(Remember that it's all coordinating
conjunctions not just "and.")

I have a mind to join a club and beat

you over the head with it.
(Groucho Marx)
(There is no comma before the
"and" because "beat you over the
head with it" is not an independent
clause. This is a simple sentence,
i.e., it's one independent clause with
one subject.)

In Hollywood, brides keep the

bouquets and throw away the
groom. (Groucho Marx)
(There is no comma before the
"and" because "throw away the
groom" is not an independent
clause.)

(Point 2) Use commas

with nonessential
dependent clauses that
start with "who" or
"which" (or any relative
pronoun for that matter).
If a dependent clause functioning as an
adjective is essential to specify its noun, it's
not offset with commas. (NB: In these
examples, the dependent clauses are
shaded.)

My sister who lives in London was

arrested.
(Here, the clause is essential to
identify "my sister." From this,
readers would infer that I have more
than one sister.)

My sister, who lives in London, was

arrested.
(Here, the clause is nonessential. It
does not specify "my sister." From
this, without more context, readers
would infer that I have one sister.
The clause is just additional
information. It could be deleted
without disrupting the readers'
understanding of "my sister.")

The first thing which I can record

concerning myself is that I was born.
This life, which neither time nor
eternity can bring diminution to,
began. My mind loses itself in these
depths. (Groucho Marx)
(Here, the first dependent clause is
essential to specify "thing." The
second clause is nonessential. It
does not specify "life." It is just
additional information. Therefore, it
is nonessential and offset with
commas. The nonessential clause
could have been offset with brackets
instead of commas or even deleted,
and that's a good test of whether a
clause is essential or nonessential.)

Anyone who says he can see

through women is missing a lot.
(Groucho Marx)
(Here, the clause is essential to
specify "anyone.")

When used to head an adjective dependent

clause, "which" and "who" are relative
pronouns. Such clauses are often called
"relative clauses."

Remember that this rule does not apply

only to "who" and "which." It applies to any
relative pronoun (e.g., "whose," "why").

Read more about relative pronouns.

(Point 3) Use a comma

after an adverbial
dependent clause that
sits before the
independent clause.
Don't use a comma
before the clause if it
follows the independent
clause.
Using a comma after a fronted adverbial
dependent clause is such a common style,
it's becoming increasingly safe to call it a
rule. The purpose of the comma is to aid
reading. It shows your readers where the
clause ends. Omitting a comma isn't a
hideous crime (and lots of writers do it,
even prefer it), but omitting the comma can
cause your readers to stumble as they try to
find the end of the dependent clause.

Can you read these without stumbling?

When the witch cooked her cat

lurked by her feet.

While cleaning the water can steam.

Here are some examples with commas.

(NB: In these examples, the independent
clauses are shaded.)

If it is meant to be, it will be.

Whenever I see you next, remind

me not to talk to you. (Groucho
Marx)

Before I speak, I have something

important to say. (Groucho Marx)
(As the adverbial dependent clauses
are at the front, they are offset with
commas.)

With the clause at the back, there's no

comma.

It will be if it is meant to be.

Remind me not to talk to you

whenever I see you next.

I have something important to say

before I speak.

(Point 4) There's more to

Point 3.
Let's complicate the issue a bit. The rule
that states "do not use a comma when the
adverbial clause follows the independent
clause" is not really the rule. In fact, the rule
for post-positioned adverbial clauses is the
same as for post-positioned adjective
clauses (see Point 2). In other words, use a
comma if the adverbial clause is
nonessential. The problem is that it's way
more difficult to decide whether an
adverbial clause is essential or
nonessential than it is with an adjective
clause. As the vast majority of adverbial
clauses are essential, it's pretty safe, but
not entirely safe, to declare that a post-
positioned adverbial clause isn't preceded
by a comma.

This issue typically crops up with "because"

that explains a negative.

Jack didn't win because he was the

best player. He won because he
paid the referee.
(In this example, Jack actually won.
The dependent clause "because he
was the best player" is deemed
essential to distinguish it from the
situation below.)

Jack didn't win, because he was the

worst player.
(In this example, Jack lost, as you'd
expect the worst player to.)

The comma distances the dependent

clause from "didn't win." In the two
examples above, the contexts make the
meaning clear, but what about this
example:

Jack didn't win because he was rich.

(Now we're unsure whether Jack
won. The absence of a comma tells
us he did win, but, really, who'd read
this sentence and deduce that Jack
won?)

The take-away point here is that a comma

before a post-positioned adverbial clause
distances it from the verb in the
independent clause. It makes the clause
nonessential.

He died as you'd expect a young

officer to.
(He died with honour.)

He died, as you'd expect a young

officer to.
(This could mean he died because
he was useless or because it was
statistically likely.)

If you ever find yourself relying on the

comma before a post-positioned adverbial
clause for clarity, don't. Reword.

Key Points

An "and" linking two independent

clauses is preceded by a comma,
and this applies to "but" and "or"
too.

If you'd happily put your relative

clause, which will usually start with
"which" or "who", in brackets or
delete it, then it's nonessential and
should be offset with commas.

If your adverbial clause is at the

front, offset it with a comma. Don't
use a comma if it's at the back.

Printable Test

0 0

1 not attempted

True or false? An independent clause is a

clause that can stand alone as a
sentence.

A. True

B. False

2 not attempted

Select the independent clause:

A. This is nice

B. Nice one

3 not attempted

Select the independent clause:

A. She passed him the letter

B. Until he read the letter

4 not attempted

True or false? A clause typically has a

subject and verb.

A. True

B. False

5 not attempted

Select the independent clause:

A. Even though it's raining and cold

B. I'm leaving

6 not attempted

Select the independent clause:

A. The squirrel is back

B. Before the squirrel eats all the

nuts

7 not attempted

True or false? A sentence with two or

more independent clauses is called a
simple sentence.

A. True

B. False

8 not attempted

True or false? A sentence with two or

more independent clauses is called a
compound sentence.

A. True

B. False

9 not attempted

Select the independent clause:

A. Too much snow on the road to

move

B. The snow has covered the road

10 not attempted

Select the independent clause:

A. Go

B. who is unable to go

11 not attempted

Select the independent clause:

A. Whenever you're ready

B. See you later

12 not attempted

Select the independent clause:

A. Sit

B. Where I am sitting

13 not attempted

Select the independent clause:

A. If I see him

B. I see him

14 not attempted

Select the simple sentence:

A. The fire will protect us from the

wolves.

B. We're safe from the wolves while

the fire is alight.

15 not attempted

Select the compound sentence:

A. I like pies but love cakes.

B. I like pies, but I love cakes.

16 not attempted

Select the complex sentence:

A. I like cakes, which is fortunate.

B. He took one of mine and one of

his.

17 not attempted

True or false? When there are no

dependent clauses in the same sentence
as an independent clause, the
independent clause is a simple sentence.

A. True

B. False

18 not attempted

Select the compound sentence:

A. I will check with my boss and

send you an email.

B. I will check, and I will send you

an email.

0 0

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See Also

What is a clause?

What is a sentence?

What is the subject of a sentence?

What are verbs?

What is a dependent clause?

What is a simple sentence?

What is a complex sentence?

What is a compound sentence?

What are coordinate conjunctions?

Commas before conjunctions

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